


Boyfriend For Hire

by Glass_Oceans



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-18 08:34:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17577461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glass_Oceans/pseuds/Glass_Oceans
Summary: After a disastrous valentine's day date, Kylo Ren sees an opportunity to improve Hux's evening, and his own.





	Boyfriend For Hire

**Author's Note:**

> This is my fill for the KyluxXOXO valentine's day challenge, using the words - mistake, love, alone.

Kylo turned down the volume of the TV, head cocked towards the door. The sound of the door closing echoed along the hall, and he muted the TV, twisting around on the sofa to watch as Hux approached. 

“You’re home early,” he said as Hux entered the room, before noting how his flatmate was avoiding his gaze. “What’s wrong?”

Hux grimaced as he laid a plastic bag on the table and shook his jacket off. 

“Going out on a date on Valentine’s was a mistake,” he said. 

“Didn’t go well?”

“Dude thought he was going to get a pity fuck, because, and I quote, who else but a sad fuck would want a first date on Valentine’s.”

“Sounds like a right catch,” Kylo said, deadpan. 

“So, I told him that if he wanted to get laid, he could go fuck himself,” Hux said, peeling back the bag and unpacking several plastic containers. “Told him that I’d rather be alone if he was my only option.” Hux sighed and spread his arms out over the array of takeout on the table. “So here I am. Overeating for one.”

“No.”

Hux finally looked at him then, his face creased in confusion. “What?”

“No. I won’t allow it.”

“The hell are you talking about?”

Kylo vaulted over the back of the couch in one easy movement. 

“Ben Solo, boyfriend for hire, at your service.”

Hux was lost for words, but the look he was giving Kylo clearly said he thought Kylo had lost his mind. 

“Hear me out,” Kylo said and paused, but Hux didn’t interrupt. “It’s a favour I’ve done for friends before, when they’ve needed a stand in. Someone to appear in pictures, attend family functions, that kind of thing.”

When Hux still failed to respond, Kylo took charge of the situation. 

“Darling,” he said, stepping forward and taking hold of Hux’s shoulders. “You’ve had an awfully hard day. Let me run a bath for you to relax while I prepare dinner.”

Hux blinked, glancing back down at his take out in confusion. He heard Kylo move away, towards the bathroom, and heard the hiss of water as the tub began to fill. In a daze, he moved after him, and watched as Kylo poured liberal amounts of bath foam into the running water. The room was soon filled with citrus scented steam. 

“I didn’t even know we had bath stuff,” Hux said, picking up the bottle for the edge of the bathtub as Kylo turned away to retrieve a towel. 

“It’s mine,” Kylo said, taking back the bottle and pushing the towel into Hux’s arms. “But of course you can use it too darling. Now, just relax.”

Hux watched as Kylo left, blinking in confusion at the door until some manner of sense returned to him, and he hurried to turn off the taps before the tub overflowed. He looked down at the gently bobbing bubbles. Well, he thought, it’d be a shame to waste. He set the towel down on the edge of the sink, and began to get undressed. 

His skin turned pink almost instantly as he sank into the water, but he could feel the stress drain from his body as he got used to the temperature. He could hear small sounds from the apartment as Kylo moved about. Music drifted through the door, something mellow that had Hux’s eyes drifting closed. 

He started awake as Kylo rapped on the door. Water sloshed over the edge of the tub as he sat up in alarm. 

“Hux?” Kylo called. “You ok?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Hux said, wiping a hand over his face, “I’m fine.”

“Dinner is almost ready if you’re ready to get out?”

Hux looked down at the floor where his clothes had taken the worst of the soaking when he’d sat up. 

“I might need some fresh clothes.”

“You could come to dinner naked, I wouldn’t mind.”

Hux’s head snapped up to look at the door, but it remained closed, with Kylo safely on the other side. 

“Just.. give me a minute to run into my room. I won’t take long.”

“Spoilsport,” Kylo replied, but Hux could hear his footsteps retreating from the door. 

He stepped out of the tub, pulling the plug regretfully on the still-warm water, watching it drain as he wrapped the towel around his waist. Damp clothes bundled in his arms, he dashed into his room, dumping the clothes in a laundry basket before briskly drying himself off. He would have loved to have just put on sweatpants and an old t-shirt, but he wasn’t sure what Kylo was planning, so he pulled a crisp white shirt and black jeans from his closet. 

Emerging from his room, his foot landed on something soft and cool, and he looked down to see a trail of rose petals, scattered from his door to the main room. He followed their trail, and paused to take in the changes Kylo had made to their shared space. The TV and lights were both off; instead Kylo had lit the room with dozen of candles and tea-lights, each one set in a fire safe container so Hux wouldn’t be left cleaning up wax spills for weeks after. The petals continued into the room, surrounding their small table in a circle where Kylo must have laid out every piece of half decent china they had, including a pair of mismatched wine glasses and a bottle of red wine airing on the table. 

“Kylo, how did you get all this done?”

“Magic,” Kylo replied, “Ben knows a lot of magic.”

Hux moved to the table as Kylo pulled his seat out, starting as Kylo placed a hand on his shoulder as he poured the wine. When Kylo moved around to pour his own glass, Hux was surprised that he missed that small contact. He sipped nervously as Kylo disappeared into the kitchen. 

“If I’d had more notice, I would have arranged a butler too, to do this part for me.”

“You have a butler?”

“No, but I have friends who owe me favours in return.”

Ben emerged carrying a bowl of fresh pasta, basil leaves mixed liberally in, and a plate of crisp, fragrant garlic bread. 

“Garlic bread? On a date?” Hux asked, unable to resist the tease. 

“It won’t matter if we’re both eating it.” Kylo said as he began to serve. 

The food was simple and delicious, and for a while Hux was concerned mostly with the marvelous feast Kylo had prepared, and the wine glass that he kept topping up almost without Hux noticing. But curiosity could only be held at bay for so long. 

“I meant to ask,” Hux said, as he loaded his fork with more pasta, “but…. Ben?”

“It’s part of the image,” Kylo replied. 

“The image? Of the…”

“Well, yeah,” Kylo said, putting down his slice of garlic bread. “If people hear Kylo Ren, they’re going to think no-good reject, leather jackets, stomping around-”

“It’s like they know you already.”

Kylo gave Hux a mock stern look as he continued. “Yes, and most fathers would not be happy to see me coming down the garden path to steal dear sweet Cindy away. Ben Solo, though, he’s different. He’s college, shirt and tie, prospects…”

“Isn’t that dishonest?”

“We’re all of us selling an image, an ideal we want to present to others. I’m just selling one for cash.”

The conversation continued to flow after that, eased by the wine and the laughter, so when Kylo suggested that they move to the couch for dessert, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to let him fetch it from the kitchen while Hux made himself comfortable, cradling the last of the wine in his glass. 

Kylo returned with a bowl of strawberries in one hand, and a chocolate concoction of some description in the other. Hux dipped his finger into it as Kylo set them down, too fast for the hand that tried to swipe him away. 

“Nutella?” he asked around the finger in his mouth. 

Kylo shrugged. “Some improvisation was necessary,” he said as he lifted Hux’s long legs to sit himself under them, resting his hands on Hux’s knees as he settled them both. Hux took another sip of wine as he felt the effects of the bottle flood his mind and body. He was warm, far too warm, all over, but especially where Kylo’s hands were resting. He began hyper aware of Kylo’s legs under his, and the shift of his hands as Hux leaned over to the coffee table to set down his glass. When he sat back up, Kylo looked at him for a long moment, eyes dark in the candlelight, thumbnail idly playing with the seam of his jeans. 

“Do you…” he started, glancing away, “do you want some strawberries?”

He reached out to the bowl, taking up a fruit by its stem and held the shining red fruit out to Hux, who gave him a skeptical look. 

“Don’t you trust me?”

“Not particularly.”

“Good answer,” Kylo replied with a grin, the fruit moving slowly closer until it was just shy of touching Hux’s lips. 

Hux held Kylo’s look as the strawberry touched his lips, dragging at them slightly as Kylo teased him. Hux lunged, but this time Kylo was faster, snatching the fruit away and popping it into his own mouth. 

“Delicious.”

He reached for another, but this time when he offered it to Hux, Hux grabbed his hand and took the strawberry from it, sitting back to enjoy his stolen dessert. 

“That was cheating.”

“Was not.”

“Go on then. See if you can get the next one honestly.”

Hux sat up again, delightfully tense with anticipation as Kylo selected the next target. Hux lunged early, snapping his teeth on empty air in warning, making Kylo raise his eyebrows before he sat back with the strawberry held in his fingers between them. 

The cat and mouse game continued for far longer this time, Kylo holding the strawberry just out of reach if Hux’s hands so much as twiched. Hux lost patience and tried to grapple with Kylo’s arms anyway, pulling at the one closest to him, while Kylo held the strawberry away in the other. With a grunt of effort, Hux grabbed handfuls of Kylo’s jumper, hauling himself up and onto Kylo’s lap in his single minded quest. Kylo, at the limit of his ability to stretch, started to tip over on the couch, laughing, as Hux continued his attack. 

“You could just take another one!” Kylo said as he fell onto his back, Hux’s hand still climbing inch by inch up his wrist. 

“Nope,” Hux said, squeaking in triumph as he finally snatched the fruit, displaying it in front on Kylo to mark his triumph, “has to be this one.”

Kylo grinned at the glee on Hux’s face, and Hux suddenly became aware of their positions. He was practically lying on top of Kylo, his left hand holding Kylo’s right arm imobile beside his body, and the only thing that was separating them was the strawberry he was holding between them. He scrambled to sit upright, perching on the edge of the couch as he reached for the bowl of Nutella. He coated the strawberry liberally in the stuff while he watched Kylo from the corner of his eye, stretch out on the couch before lacing his hands behind his head. 

The silence stretched on while Hux ate his prize, uncomfortably aware of being watched. He couldn’t think of a thing to say, and was all too aware of how much he kept licking his lips to clean them of the last of the chocolate. 

“Care to dance?”

Hux jumped at Kylo’s voice sounding right behind his ear. He hadn’t noticed him sitting up, slipping past him to stand and hold his hand out to Hux. 

“All park of the package.”

Hux took his hand, the feeling of Kylo’s fingers wrapped around his were so warm as Kylo changed the music to something slow. When Kylo pulled him close, hands resting on Hux’s waist, his brain seemed to stop working for a moment. He was glad that Kylo took the lead, swaying them slowly. 

“You ok?” Kylo asked softly. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Hux said, mind scrambling to regain some level on control beyond it’s fixation of the feel of Kylo’s hands on him. “Is this like your typical dates then?”

“Not really,” Kylo said, pulling Hux a little closer. “For a start, this is much more fun.”

“Dates for hire aren’t fun?”

“Meeting the parents is like an interview. That never goes well.”

“True.”

“So, no, not much fun to be had.”

“What about after?”

“After? When I get paid? Yeah, that’s always nice.”

Hux stopped for a moment, looking up at Kylo. “You mean… you don’t…”

“Sleep with them?” Kylo shook his head, his dark hair swaying in agreement. “I’m selling a dating service, that’s all.”

“Oh,” Hux said, and allowed Kylo to start moving again. He was so very tempted to give fully into the fantasy that Kylo had offered him for his evening, and rest his head against Kylo’s shoulder and just let himself be held. 

“So there’s not much difference between you and Ben.”

“There’s some things.”

“Such as?”

Hux felt his cheeks flush as Kylo’s hands slipped lower, clasping his narrow hips. He did no more than that, but Hux found himself afraid to look Kylo in the eye, in case he say reflected the sudden bloom of lust that he was experiencing. 

“I see,” Hux said, throat tight. 

“Ben is all propriety and proper conduct. Kylo takes what he wants.” 

Hux wasn’t prepared for the feeling that surged through his body as Kylo pulled their hips flush. He was still reeling when Kylo dipped his head, teasing Hux’s lips with a kiss that ignited a firestorm. Hux surged into the kiss, threading his hands into Kylo’s hair, finding it just as luscious as he’d always suspected. His lips were so soft, his tongue hot, and Kylo’s arms wrapped around him, holding him tight. 

He moved with Kylo as he took one step, then another, moving them across the room. On the third step, his hip bumped the couch, breaking them apart. But when Kylo reached for Hux again, Hux stopped him with a hand held stiff against his chest. 

“Hux, what’s wrong?” Kylo said. He rubbed his thumbs over Hux’s hips, wanting to pull them close again, and was surprised when Hux pushed him away, stepping out of reach of his arms. 

“That was,” he began, looking away, “well, yes, excellent demonstration.”

“Hux…”

“I can see why your services are so popular. Valentine’s must be a very busy holiday for you.”

Hux removed his hand from Kylo’s chest, taking another step away from him. Kylo felt cold where Hux’s hand had been and reached out, only to have Hux shy away. 

“You never warned me you were quite so good at it,” Hux said. “In making people believe that you loved them.”

“Hux, wait-”

“And that’s… that’s really not what I need right now. Not after today.”

Hux stepped sharply around him, dodging Kylo’s attempt to touch him, entering his room and slamming the door. The click of lock sounded shortly after, and Kylo felt his whole miscalculation settle heavily into his body. 

“It wasn’t…” he said quietly. But he knew Hux wasn’t listening. 

Clenching his jaw, he started to tidy up the plates. When he got to the bowl of strawberries, barely touched, he was seized with a sudden urge to hurl them against the wall or against Hux’s door. He thought of what it’d be like for Hux, to startle at the noise, emerging from his room to a mess of broken crockery and pulped fruit. He’d come out then, ask Kylo what was wrong, and they’d talk. Hux would reach for his hand. Kylo would look at him, wait for Hux to lean in this time, to press their lips together…

Kylo’s legs gave out, the dish clattering to the table as he collapsed on the couch, his head in his hands. No-one came to comfort him.


End file.
